Trudeau, Chinese Vice Premier strike similar note on trade openness at business summit
Speaking on stage in a glitzy hotel ballroom to open the Fortune Global Forum business summit in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou Wednesday, Trudeau made a pitch that Canada’s vision of progressive trade can help keep the forces of protectionism at bay while promoting more inclusive prosperity

Thestar.com
Alex Ballingall
Dec. 6, 2017

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told an elite business audience Wednesday that the only way for China to continue its decades of rapid economic growth is to open up to the rest of the world, a line of thinking that diverged with the protectionist mood in the United States and gelled neatly with the stated intentions of Beijing’s authoritarian government.

The message also struck at the overarching purpose of Trudeau’s ongoing visit to the Asian economic powerhouse, as key officials continued efforts in the Chinese capital to launch trade talks between Canada and the world’s second-largest economy.

Speaking on stage in a glitzy hotel ballroom to open the Fortune Global Forum business summit in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou Wednesday, Trudeau made a pitch that Canada's vision of progressive trade can help keep the forces of protectionism at bay while promoting more inclusive prosperity  an apparent snipe at the ideology of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has slammed China for its trade practices and threatened to tear up the North American Free Trade Agreement, arguing that both have led to job losses in his country.

"We understand that in order for our country to succeed and prosper, we have to diversify our markets," Trudeau said.
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"Here in China, the middle class has grown at an unprecedented rate over the past few decades. And the only way to maintain that growth is to ensure that ordinary people see direct benefits," he went on.

"That means being open to partnerships from around the world. When it comes to trade and international cooperation, China and Canada share the belief that more openness and more collaboration is the right way forward indeed, the only way forward."

China's state-run newspaper appeared to share the theme of Trudeau's speech. China Daily, an English-language newspaper published by the government-run Xinhua news agency, put Canada's prime minister on the front page Wednesday a photo showed him smiling and shaking hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping "beneath a headline that extolled China and Canada's "cooperation and collaboration" on matters such as energy, aviation and two-way investment.

In his own speech immediately before Trudeau’s at the Fortune summit, China’s vice premier, Wang Yang, said globalization and international commerce are key to the country’s plan for future growth. He said China "unequivocally rejects protectionism" and wants closer ties with the rest of the world.

"China’s development cannot be achieved in isolation from the world," Wang said.

"China will not close its door to the world, and we will only be more open."

Trudeau’s Liberal government has said it wants to double bilateral trade with China, which was valued at $85 million in 2016.

Trudeau spent two days in Beijing this week to meet with China’s most powerful Communist Party officials in an effort to agree to a framework for trade talks.

The prime minister then flew south to the sprawling metropolis of Guangzhou Tuesday night, but not before his international trade minister, Francois-Philippe Champagne, abruptly shifted plans and opted to stay behind in the capital to press on with "exploratory" discussions on the framework for potential trade talks.

The prime minister said earlier this week that there’s no "single issue" holding back Canada and China from launching free trade talks. He said Canada needs to take the time to make sure the talks focus on the right issues, including gender rights, labour standards and environmental regulations.

The prime minister has also pressed for closer ties with China and its people, pumping up Canada as a tourism destination in an event at China’s social media giant Sina Weibo on Monday.

Canada and China inked a joint statement to combat climate change and uphold the Paris Agreement during Trudeau’s visit, as well as commitments to expand trade in agriculture and cooperate on learning initiatives during Trudeau’s meeting at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on Monday.

Trudeau also used Wednesday’s conference speech to paint Canada as an ideal place for business investment, with special permits for specialized workers and a highly educated population.

After his speech Wednesday, Trudeau spent the much of the afternoon in meetings with business executives attending the Fortune summit. These included Tim Cook, chief executive of Apple, and Jack Ma, founder of the Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba.

Later Wednesday, Trudeau and his entourage of ministers and staff held a sombre ceremony to mark the anniversary of the Ecole Polytechnique massacre in Montreal.

Trudeau is scheduled to return to Canada from Guangzhou Thursday night.